STARTING OUT

Q: I just began playing Terraria. What do I do?
A: The following is a basic checklist of important activities:

-Obtain a large amount of wood. Use an Axe on a Tree to chop it down for wood and Acorns. Planting an acorn on grass will grow a new tree.
-Build a shelter. Make a nice little home, and fill in the background with Stone Walls or Wood Walls made from a Workbench.
-Create a Workbench out of wood. Standing near a workbench allows you to make many new items.
-Explore and find any natural caverns. Alternatively, dig straight down until you hit a cavern.
-Kill Slimes for their Gels, to create torches. Combine gels and wood.
-Create a Wooden Hammer and Wooden/Copper Sword. Get lots of wood, and visit a Workbench.
-Explore the world and locate your Dungeon, Jungle, Deserts and Corruption. Trust me, you'll know when you find them.
-Collect ores to begin ascending the equipment tiers.
-Create houses for NPCs. See below.
-Obtain either Iron for an Anvil or the Merchant NPC to purchase one.

Q: What is with these background walls? How do I destroy them?
A: Background walls made of wood or stone can be crafted at a workbench, and when placed in a shelter, prevent enemies from spawning within. Dirt and Dungeon walls, however, don't keep baddies out. You can remove background walls of any type using a hammer, or high-yield explosives if you're desperate. When removing walls, you must destroy the "edges" (top or sides) of the wall first; you can't destroy the middle.

Q: How do I place a door?
A: Doors must be placed in a three-tile-high gap in a wall. If the door won't place, ensure you have a floor and ceiling, and that the hole you're placing it in is exactly three tiles.

Q: How can I expand my crafting abilities?
A: Crafting stations allow you to create better items when you stand next to them.

-Workbenchs made of wood are the basic crafting station.
-Furnaces from stone, wood and torches, which allow you to smelt ores and other such things.
-Anvils forged of Iron allow you to make metal tools and armor.
-The Alchemy Station is made by simply putting a bottle atop a Wooden Table or a Workbench, and grants potion-brewing capabilities.

There are also Demonic Altars which appear throughout the world and cannot be moved, as well as Hell Furnaces from the bowels of hell that are used for smelting suitably hellish materials. Finally, some recipes require Chains, which can be forged at an anvil from three iron bars.

Q: Can I move my spawn point?
A: Spawn points can be set by collecting Cobwebs, crafting them into Silk, then combining Silk and Wood to make a Bed. Right-clicking the bed will relocate your spawn. Make sure the Bed is in a safe location, namely a walled well-lit room, or you won't spawn there.

Q: I'm falling down all this useless crap! I need storage.
A: Chests can be made from Iron Bars and Wood, and allow you to keep items in relative safety. Chests can also be found in caverns and dungeons and such, and emptied/hammered/taken with you. You can also purchase Piggy Banks from the Merchant, which are locked to your character in multiplayer to keep others from looting your stash.

Q: I'm hurt and need health.
A: Look for mushrooms growing in grassy areas. They're the basic newbie healing item, and can later be turned into potions at an Alchemy Station. Glowing mushrooms appear underground and heal for more than normal 'shrooms, plus they can be combined with Lesser Healing Potions to create better potions.

Q: How do I make glass bottles for potions and the alchemy station?
A: Smelt 2 Sand at a furnace to form 1 Glass, then smelt 1 Glass to form 2 Bottles. The net result is two Sand for two Bottles.

Q: It's night time. What happens?
A: Zombies and Demon Eyes will begin to spawn, Falling Stars will land across the world, and everything becomes much darker.

Q: I was told of a Blood Moon. The sky is red. What gives?
A: Blood Moons occur naturally. During a Blood Moon, massive amounts of Zombies and Demon Eyes spawn, and the maximum number of on-screen enemies skyrockets. Additionally, all Zombies gain the ability to smash open doors. Have fun!

Q: I got myself killed. What are the death penalities?
A: The only downside to dying is the loss of roughly half or more of your money. You can return to your deathbed and recollect it, assuming it didn't fall into lava or something, but it's a good idea to keep your money in your home whenever possible.

Q: How does equipment work?
A: There are several types of equipment. Helmets, Chests and Leggings are your basic armor, and Accessories have many different effects. You can equip up to five accessories, so choose carefully. Additionally, there are three slots for Social items.

Q: What types of equipment are better than others?
A: The rough tier list of material is as such: Copper > Iron > Silver > Gold > Meteor > Shadow = Jungle = Necro > Molten. Additionally, every armor type has a unique set bonus, ranging from bonus defense on the base metals to more specialized effects on Meteor and higher.

Q: What are Social/Vanity items?
A: Your inventory comes with three Social slots: helmet, chest and leggings. You can equip armor or Vanity items to these slots to have them appear in place of your normal equipment. For example, if you have a full set of Iron Armor equipped in your normal armor slots, and you place a Bucket in your Social head slot, your character will appear to have a bucket on his head, but stat-wise will retain the defense of the iron helm.

Vanity items are basically items that grant no stat bonuses, and are only there to look nice.

Q: How can I get a Grappling Hook?
A: Underground, in the Stone layer, Skeletons appear. They have a rare chance to drop Hooks; you might have to kill two skeletons or two hundred, but eventually, you'll get one. Craft Chains out of Iron Bars, and then combine three Chains and a Hook for a Grappling Hook.

Q: How can I split my stacks of items up?
A: Right-clicking a stack of items picks them up one at a time. Holding down right-click speeds up the process.